Port Coquitlam tightens relief policy ahead of property tax deadline

Nonprofits and organizations with property in Port Coquitlam that looking for a future tax break from the city may be out of luck.

On Tuesday, June 25, the city’s committee of council updated its Permissive Property Tax Exemption Policy following recommendations from a working group that included Mayor Brad West and Coun. Glenn Pollock.

The move comes eight months after council voted to deny $34,658 in property tax relief in 2024 for the Atira Women’s Resource Society, a provincially funded organization that runs The Alex at 2117 Prairie Ave.

Council pulled the exemption for the newly built residential complex citing operational and safety concerns at the facility, as well as a failure to prioritize Port Coquitlam residents and kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) First Nation members — a requirement under the policy.

Council also complained about the ongoing downloading by the provincial government onto municipalities.

Under the revised policy, PoCo City Hall will:

• no longer offer exemptions for services that are the responsibility of other levels of government
• exclude exemptions for properties under construction
• introduce a one per cent cap on the total approved permissive tax exemptions (now at 0.91 per cent)
• cut the maximum term from 10 to five years

Still, nonprofits that currently have property tax exemptions will be grandfathered as long as they meet the policy criteria.

In a presentation before the committee, Shelly Ryan, PoCo’s manager of revenue and collections, broke down the $713,225 in tax breaks the city issued last year:

• places of worship
  • $500,529
    • 70 per cent
• social services
  • $93,981
    • 13 per cent
• special needs/supportive house
  • $84,995
    • 12 per cent
• veteran support
  • $18,049
    • three per cent
• arts, culture and/or environmental
  • $15,671
    • two per cent

Mayor West said the city is trying to take a balanced approach as taxpayers bear the burden of the shifted exemptions.

And he pointed out PoCo, at 0.91 per cent, is currently the second most generous municipality in Metro Vancouver for tax relief after Langley City (by comparison, Coquitlam stands at 0.71 per cent while Port Moody is at 0.34 per cent of total budgeted municipal property tax revenues).

West said several Metro municipalities don’t offer tax breaks at all other than what’s legislatively required by the provincial government.

West said PoCo’s tax exemption for the Royal Canadian Legion branch 133 for its Shaughnessy Street properties is something “I’m very proud and want to see that continue” given the benefits to the veteran organization and its operations.

The last time council changed its Permissive Property Tax Exemption Policy was in 2018.

Meanwhile, property taxes for residents and business owners are due on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. A five per cent penalty will apply on outstanding balances after that date, and an additional five per cent penalty after Sept. 16, 2024.